The old woman hesitated for a while and then took out forty coins to buy half a pound of braised meat.
"Boss, give me a bowl with extra soup. I'll return it tomorrow morning," she urged, pointing at the big pot. With the soup base, she could add some other ingredients later and have lunch and dinner ready.
"Okay. Auntie, I'm not... the boss here," Sasha paused, blushing as she replied.
"What? You're not the boss?" The old woman was stunned. A small restaurant like this managed to hire such a young lady? Looking at Sasha's figure, curves, and tall, graceful posture, she drew attention everywhere. Then she glanced at Gordan and understood. Probably she had her eye on the boss and came to pursue him.
Sasha secretly glanced at the quietly frowning Gordan and wrapped the bowl, handing it to the old woman.
The old woman looked carefully at the bowl full of soup and smiled widely, praising, "Miss, you sure know how to do business. I'll come again next time."
After sending off the grandmother and grandson, Yuno pouted and snorted, "That old lady is shameless at her age, not worried about spoiling her grandson."
Gordan gently patted his head. "What are you muttering about? That's business. Come help now."
Today Sasha prepared not only braised meat but other dishes as well. Their cooking skills still needed practice, so they could only help with preparing ingredients.
"Young master, I'm not wrong. What if that old lady comes again and asks for soup or tries to take advantage?" Yuno whispered nervously.
Now only the three of them were in the shop. Sasha was just a girl, naturally weaker. The young master was gentle and rarely raised his voice. Yuno was only fifteen, not even an adult yet. What if a rude customer showed up? They had no relatives, friends, or roots in Mistwater Town. Just thinking about it made him worried.
"That grandmother and grandson were today's first customers. It's normal to give a little discount for a good start. Sasha knows her limits. Don't say more. Remember that," Gordan said sternly, rarely showing such strictness in his eyes. Yuno realized he was angry and quickly covered his mouth, running to the kitchen to help.
There was still an hour before noon. Sasha had planned five quick dishes to test the waters. If the feedback was good, they would buy more ingredients.
Gordan never thought he would run a small restaurant in this remote place one day. Now with Sasha by his side, he was full of energy. All his complaints about home disappeared. He was especially grateful to his parents. If they hadn't kicked him out, he would never have met such a wonderful girl.
More customers came one after another, all attracted by the strong aroma of meat.
By the time Sasha finished preparing all today's dishes, half the big pot of braised meat was already sold.
Gordan excitedly ran to the kitchen holding the new account book and told Sasha the good news.
"Half the meat pot sold out?" Sasha was surprised, barely believing her ears, and hurried to check at the stove.
Sure enough, the big pot that was once full of braised meat was now less than half full.
Ten jin of meat sold out in just one hour. They had prepared too little!
"Yes, over twenty customers came just now. I thought the braised meat might not be enough, so I sold it by two jin each. We earned eight hundred coins," Gordan said excitedly, describing the busy scene. His excitement lifted both Sasha and Yuno's spirits.
Twice-cooked pork, Kung Pao chicken, scrambled eggs with scallions, dry pot cauliflower, garlic stir-fried greens, purple egg drop soup, and corn pork rib soup.
Five hot dishes and two soups were neatly placed on the long table.
Just as they finished preparing, two laborers walked in.
They paused and looked around the new restaurant with surprise.
When their eyes landed on Sasha, they both shivered with excitement.
"Miss, did you open this place?" Roman cautiously approached and tried to chat with her, ignoring Gordan and Yuno completely.
Colson leaned over the big pot and sniffed lightly. The dishes looked colorful and smelled delicious, but it was not the exact aroma that made his mouth water.
He took two more deep sniffs, then looked toward the big pot behind Sasha.
"Miss, what's inside there?" he asked following Roman.
Gordan's expression darkened slightly. He stepped in front of Sasha and introduced the dishes one by one.
Only then did Roman and Colson notice the other two and scratched their heads awkwardly.
"Boss, how much is the set meal you just mentioned?" Roman's mouth watered, eager to dig in with some rice, especially the twice-cooked pork with its spicy kick, waking up his hunger.
"One meat and two vegetables is eight coins, two meats and two vegetables ten coins, three meats and two vegetables twelve coins. Hot soup is free. Rice comes with one free refill. That pot contains braised meat," Gordan said clearly, stating the prices.
"What does 'one free refill' mean?" Colson was curious. He had never heard this term before.
"It means you get up to two bowls of rice free. More than that costs two coins per bowl," Gordan answered, pointing to the price board hanging above.
Roman and Colson looked up, seeing a big wooden sign with all today's dishes and their prices written clearly in chalk.
When they saw the words braised meat, their spirits lifted instantly.
"Braised pork rice costs fifteen coins per portion. Single purchase is eight coins per two jin," they murmured to each other.
"I'll have a braised pork rice, with extra rice," Roman was overwhelmed by the irresistible meat aroma. He didn't care about the price and happily handed over fifteen coins. He wanted to taste it right away.
Colson was more careful with money. After hesitation, he chose the cheapest eight-coin set meal with twice-cooked pork and two bowls of white rice.
Unexpectedly, the hot soup here even included meat soup. Two bowls were served together.
Roman hurriedly took a big bite of the braised pork rice. His eyes widened in surprise. It was delicious, better than he expected. He had never eaten such tasty braised pork. No unpleasant pork smell, salty and sweet with fresh flavors, wrapped in a light herbal aroma. Before he knew it, he finished the whole bowl without leaving a single grain of rice.
Colson was shocked by how fast Roman finished. He regretted not ordering braised pork rice. Just for the amount of meat, he should have gotten a portion.
Roman's eating made Colson crave the braised meat more. He decided to spend eight coins on some meat to snack on. Once he started, he couldn't stop. Before leaving, he bought two jin to take home and improve his family's meal.
Back at the dock, the two spread the news about the newly opened Bright Moon Restaurant loudly to their coworkers. When the porters and nearby fishermen who hadn't eaten yet heard about the graceful young lady at the restaurant, they didn't hesitate and headed straight there.
Soon, the 900-square-foot restaurant was packed.
At first, everyone hurried to pay and tried to talk to Sasha. Later, as they ate, the noise grew quieter until only the sounds of eating and calls for more rice and dishes filled the air.
The restaurant was small. When people walking by saw it was packed, they started peeking inside. Soon, a long line formed at the entrance.
Gordan and Yuno were caught off guard by the sudden crowd. They rushed back and forth, unsure what to handle first.
"Miss, do you have any more braised pork?" The elderly woman who came that morning hurried into the shop.
"Auntie, it's you. The braised pork is sold out. You'll have to wait until tomorrow. Maybe you can try something else?" Sasha looked down at the nearly empty five large pots and paused, quickly correcting herself. "Auntie, there's one portion left for each of these dishes. If you want something freshly cooked, it'll be ready only by dusk."
"Can you make more braised pork later today?" The old woman held out her cleaned bowl, asking again.
Her family had fought over the half a pound she bought that morning. Her little grandson only got two bites before it was gone and cried loudly the entire time. She had rushed over hoping to get two more pounds, only to find it sold out. She clearly remembered the pot was full in the morning. How did it disappear so quickly?
"Miss, could you please make more? My grandson really loves your braised pork. If I go back empty-handed, he's going to throw a fit." The woman blushed slightly from the stress. It was embarrassing. Her husband and son had almost gotten into a fight over the meat.
"Auntie, it's not that I don't want to make more, but we've run out of ingredients. You can reserve the amount you want now and pick it up tomorrow morning. Would that work for you?"
Before the auntie could answer, a diner suddenly raised his head and shouted, "Miss, reserve half a pound for me too. I'll come back tomorrow."
Others quickly joined in. The old woman panicked and took out 80 coins, placing an order for one pound.
"Miss, I've paid already. Please make sure you save it for me."
Sasha scanned the room quickly, then smiled and raised her voice. "Don't worry, Auntie. You paid first. You'll definitely get yours tomorrow."
The crowd understood right away and hurried to pull money from their clothes, rushing to place their orders.
Gordan and Yuno grabbed pen and paper to write receipts for each customer, reminding them to bring the receipts tomorrow to claim their meat. They urged everyone to keep their receipts safe.
They didn't see the last customer out until mid-afternoon.
Gordan hung up the closed sign and shut the door.
All three of them were so exhausted it felt like their bodies had been run over by a cart. Their mouths were dry like winter leaves with no moisture left.
All the ingredients for the day were sold out. Six large pots and two soup pots were completely empty.
Sasha brought out three bowls of braised pork rice that had been kept warm from the morning. Gordan and Yuno nearly jumped with excitement.
"Sasha, you still had braised pork left? I thought we wouldn't get to eat today," Yuno said, sniffing with delight.
Gordan quietly looked at the pork piled on top of the rice, overwhelmed with happiness.
"We all worked hard. Let's eat while it's still hot," Sasha said, smiling as she removed her veil. Her vision cleared, and she stopped talking, focusing on shoveling spoonfuls of food into her mouth.
She decided that tomorrow she would wear a face mask instead. At this rate, her eyes were going to be ruined from the strain.
After dinner, the three of them started counting the day's earnings.
They made 2,100 coins from just one meal. On top of that, they received another 4,000 coins in braised pork preorders. Altogether, they earned 6,100 coins, which was six taels of silver. After costs, the profit was around 50%.
This amount meant little to Gordan back when he was in Liang City, but now it was significant, especially since it was money earned by their own hands.
"Sasha, in Wushui Town, how are taxes handled for businesses?" she asked, trying to calculate the net profit.
"Right now the empire has a low-tax policy. Businesses making less than 100 taels a month don't pay any taxes," Gordan replied with a smile.
Sasha suddenly remembered that job she once applied for. The salary didn't even reach the taxable threshold. Her heart sank a little.
No matter where she went, she wasn't qualified to pay taxes.
Thinking of how far she still was from the life she dreamed of, her determination burned even stronger.
She made a goal for herself: start paying taxes.
"Gordan, do you know what's needed to register a household in Wushui Town?" Sasha asked. She wanted legal status to avoid trouble later.
Gordan and Yuno were shocked. A woman's household registration was more complex than a man's. Besides local registration, the central government also had to approve it. People without one were either undocumented or not from the empire.
"Sasha, did your parents never register you?" Gordan asked gently.
Sasha looked nervous, wringing her hands behind her back while trying to find the right words.
Gordan read her expression and thought for a moment. "Leave it to me."
That meant it was possible? Sasha's heart leapt with joy. She quickly said, "Wouldn't it be too much trouble for you? Maybe you can tell me how, and I can do it myself?"
"Getting registered in town is tough. There are a lot of documents needed. I think I'll go ask the village chief and headman in Little River Village. That's probably the best option. I don't think they'd turn away a young lady like you."
"Thank you, Gordan. I don't know what I would've done without you two," Sasha said gratefully. She felt she owed Gordan more and more.
The afternoon sun was always short.
By evening, Yuno had cleaned the small restaurant spotless. The new ingredients were already boiling in the pots. Five steaming hot ready-to-go meals were prepped.
"Sasha, should these herbs just soak like this?" Yuno asked.
"Yes, let them sit a bit longer, then we can use them for the braised pork soup base," Sasha replied as she checked their condition.
"Do you think Gordan will run into any problems?" Sasha glanced at the darkening sky, worried. He had gone to Little River Village to ask about her registration. She wondered if the chief and headman had agreed.
"Don't worry, Sasha. Gordan will definitely take care of it," Yuno said confidently.
To settle in Little River Village, one needed a house. There were already plenty of small vacant homes there. Buying one would be easy. Gordan definitely had enough money for that.